This poll, fielded December 17-20, 2010, solicited respondents' opinion on the United States' world influence, their expectations for themselves and their family in 2011, and whether respondents thought the United States will be more respected by other countries by the end of 2011. They were also queried on whether they thought China's growing economy was a major threat to the economy of the United States, whether respondents thought the United States would have gained ground to China's economy by the end of 2011, whether Americans were more interested in what the country could do for them rather what they could do for their country, and whether most members of Congress were more interested in serving the people they represent or in serving special interest groups. Respondents were queried on their impression of the war in Afghanistan, whether the United States was doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan, and when United States troops should come home from Afghanistan. They were also asked whether they approved of embryonic stem cell research, whether federal spending on medical research using embryonic stem cells should be increased, decreased, or stay the same, whether illegal immigration was a serious problem, and their views on abortion. They were queried on their favorite holiday song, if they planned to make any New Year's resolutions for 2011, whether they thought they would gain or lose weight over the course of the next year, their preferred Sunday activity for 2011, whether they checked the labels of items to see if they are buying American made products, their frequency in checking e-mail, what they thought of their penmanship, and how frequently they wrote by hand. They were asked whether they had or planned to travel for vacation in the upcoming winter season, whether they were planning to travel some place warm or cold, and whether they thought the weather patterns had been normal or unusual the past few years. Respondents were also asked for their opinion of WikiLeaks, their interest in the 2011 royal wedding, whether they are paid what they think they are worth, whether they have Attention Deficient Disorder, and whether they were proud of their life so far. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, marital status, religious preference, employment status, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, and whether respondent is a born again Christian.

This poll, fielded December 17-20, 2010, solicited respondents' opinion on the United States' world influence, their expectations for themselves and their family in 2011, and whether respondents thought the United States will be more respected by other countries by the end of 2011. They were also queried on whether they thought China's growing economy was a major threat to the economy of the United States, whether respondents thought the United States would have gained ground to China's economy by the end of 2011, whether Americans were more interested in what the country could do for them rather what they could do for their country, and whether most members of Congress were more interested in serving the people they represent or in serving special interest groups. Respondents were queried on their impression of the war in Afghanistan, whether the United States was doing the right thing by fighting the war in Afghanistan, and when United States troops should come home from Afghanistan. They were also asked whether they approved of embryonic stem cell research, whether federal spending on medical research using embryonic stem cells should be increased, decreased, or stay the same, whether illegal immigration was a serious problem, and their views on abortion. They were queried on their favorite holiday song, if they planned to make any New Year's resolutions for 2011, whether they thought they would gain or lose weight over the course of the next year, their preferred Sunday activity for 2011, whether they checked the labels of items to see if they are buying American made products, their frequency in checking e-mail, what they thought of their penmanship, and how frequently they wrote by hand. They were asked whether they had or planned to travel for vacation in the upcoming winter season, whether they were planning to travel some place warm or cold, and whether they thought the weather patterns had been normal or unusual the past few years. Respondents were also asked for their opinion of WikiLeaks, their interest in the 2011 royal wedding, whether they are paid what they think they are worth, whether they have Attention Deficient Disorder, and whether they were proud of their life so far. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, marital status, religious preference, employment status, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, and whether respondent is a born again Christian.

Universe:
Persons aged 18 years and older living in households with telephones in the United States.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

Recoded variables CNTY and ZIP for respondent confidentiality.

This data collection was produced by CBS News, New York, NY.

Methodology

Sample:
A variation of random-digit dialing (RDD) using primary sampling units (PSUs) was employed, consisting of blocks of 100 telephone numbers identical through the eighth digit and stratified by geographic region, area code, and size of place. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. Within households, respondents were selected using a method developed by Leslie Kish and modified by Charles Backstrom and Gerald Hursh (see Backstrom and Hursh, SURVEY RESEARCH. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1963).

Time Method:
Cross-sectional

Weight:
The data contains a weight variable that should be used in analyzing the data. According to the CBS News Web site, the data were weighted to match United States Census Bureau breakdowns on age, sex, race, education, and region of the country. The data were also adjusted for the fact that people who share a telephone with others have less chance to be contacted than people who live alone and have their own telephones, and that households with more than one telephone number have more chances to be called than households with only one telephone number.

Mode of Data Collection:
telephone interview

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: